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FactX #3: The REAL 1st Game

“Before we ever played that first game, Hayes and I each wrapped towels around our waists and shot each other to see how badly it would hurt. Hayes shot first and missed. Then I shot him in the butt. Once we realized it was going to be fairly safe, we talked about playing our first one-on-one game. We wrote some simple rules, went into the woods and played a 45-minute game.

It ended when I got snuck up behind Hayes and said, ‘I guess I won the argument!’ Neither of us fired a single shot.” –Charles Gaines speaking at the 2004 IAO in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Most people believe the first game of paintball played was in June of 1981, but in reality it was months earlier when Charles Gaines and Hayes Noel played that one-on-one game that lasted about 45 minutes. After their one-on-one game, they knew they would have to do this again with a larger group… and the rest is history.